The pictures of starving children in Syria the world has to see.

Residents of the Syrian town of Madaya say they are dying of starvation as many resort to eating leaves, grass and insects to survive.

More than 30,000 people have been trapped in the besieged town since July and are becoming increasingly desperate with the price of rice sky-rocketing to as much as $US250 a kilogram — some are reported to have even killed and eaten their pets.

A video posted on the Al Jazeera’sAJ+shows horrific footage of children, gaunt and malnourished, one of whom says he has not eaten anything for up to a week.

Other activists inside the town have shared photos on social media of the emaciated bodies of old men who have died and images of starving children, like the boy in the image below being transported in a smaller child’s pram because he is too weak to walk.

Many children have also lost limbs searching for food in the minefields that surround Madaya.